Winter Wonderland
by CerberusProject
Summary: A squabble in the school courtyard ends and unexpected way. Slight Dantalliam. FIXED


I told you to leave me alone!" I exclaimed for what must have been the nth time that day. I had been walking through the courtyard on my way to the library, a small pile of books tucked in my arms. Dantalion, as always, was right on my heels. He was ranting about something I was none too fond of; his sports team. There was a Christmas get-together in the dorms being hosted by one of his teammates, yet another meat head I hadn't bothered to learn the name of, and Dantalion wanted me to join him for the event.

He was being insistent, as well. It was infuriating.

"Please, William?" Dantalion begged and I sped my pace through the snow covered yard. Dantalion, to my frustration, matched it with ease. With those long, powerful legs of his against my own, I had no chance of escaping him. I frowned, and he countered. "It would just be a few hours of your time. I promise you'll have fun."

Fun, he said. It would be a cold day in Hell before I believed that I would enjoy the company of a bunch of mannerless brutes like the rugby team. Dantalion was aware of my feelings, of how I would just as soon avoid the lot of them rather than be forced to make nice with them, yet he persisted. I was quickly losing my patience.

I said something snide in return, though whatever it was escapes me now. Either way, that one comment began an argument between us that lasted the entire length of our walk and turned more than a few heads. Of course there had been the occasional student to see me lose my temper, and more than a small share had seen me yell, but no one had ever seen me fighting like that with another person. I was far from myself when Dantalion and I got like that. Yes, I was quite the different person. I was irrational, almost crass and prone to violence if it meant I would win.

Lucky for Dantalion my hands had been full at the time or I'm sure I would have struck him for some of the things he said to me. He always did have an audacity about him that wholly shocked me and instilled in me such anger as I had never felt before. No one had ever talked to me the way he did - no one dared. It was this that upset me, I know, though I can admit now that i was the one at fault. Dantalion is nothing if not loyal and he was defending his friends from my tongue lashings, though when he called me a brat I nearly lost it.

So engrossed in our angered discussion was I that I hadn't noticed I had guided us away from the paths cut through the sloshing tainted white by countless students feet and towards a rather icy patch of cobblestone. Even Dantalion had been late to discover, and by the time he'd noticed I had been cut off mid-sentence by my own feet going out from under me.

"William!" he shouted, immediately losing his taste for the fight in favor of his devotion to my safety and he grabbed my arm to steady me. In my panic I latched onto him and dragged him down with me. Books went flying into the snow, accompanied by my frightened cry.

Somehow Dantalion swung us around by some miraculous command of our momentum and when we did crash to earth I was spared pain racking through my thin frame by a warm, rather solid cushion under me. All went quiet after that - a shock to my ears, for they had become accustom to our squabbling, now met only with the faint breathy sound of winter air. I laid there for an undetermined amount of time, attempting to gather my bearings. What had happened, I thought in earnest and I felt a pounding in my head then. I blinked - a delayed reaction - and soon realized the pain had come from my head colliding with Dantalion's chest.

Slowly I eased myself to sit up, pulling my legs to tuck under myself as I gathered what had occurred, only to find they were set on either side of my savior. Sat upon his legs I observed the demon under me, noting his obvious pain - he must have hit the ground hard with how ferocious the fall had been, and his expression showed it well. His face was contorted in anguish as he let out a groan. A hand moved to hold his head, an attempted to ease his own suffering. And there I sat, my hands upon his chest to steady my own weight, unable to do anything but stare like a git.

Finally his eyes opened and I remember almost physical start as they rest on mine. Then he smiled at me - not his usual smug or condescending smirk, but quite genuine. All that discomfort and he was smiling at me, as if it were all worth it having saved me from any pain. In his mind, I'm sure that's exactly what he was thinking.

His hand left his head and they both rested upon my hips. I don't remember being uncomfortable, or evening noticing it at the time. I was lost in that smile of his, in his gaze. I suddenly couldn't remember what we had been arguing about or why it had mattered. I didn't notice that my pant legs were getting soaked with slush nor that my coat had snow all over it. I didn't realize a damn thing, just us.

"Are you alright?" he asked and dumbly I could do nothing but nod. It was as if my wits had left me in the wake of his small act of heroism. Dantalion saving me was and will probably never be a new concept, but what was profound there was that it had been something so insignificant, that he had sought my safety even after all I had said. I remember smiling back softly, just a little, and I had opened my mouth to say something in return before we were interrupted by a familiar voice; Issac.

"Wow, William! Are you alright?!" he exclaimed and my attentions were drawn to him, as were Dantalion's. Issac was standing a safe distance from where we had fallen, accompanied by Sytry, who was idly nibbling on a pastry of some sort as usual. That in itself was not off putting, but instead it was the comment he made that gave me start.

"If you're trying to put the moves on him, shouldn't you do it in a bedroom, Dantalion?" My eyes widened and in my horror I realize the position we were in; I, straddling a man's legs, leaning over him, he, with his hands gripping my hips. Such a lewd position, and in plain view of everyone. My heart lept into my throat and panic hit me once more. Dantalion called something back to Sytry but I didn't stick around to see the end result.

In a whirlwind rush my hand collided with his cheek and I scurried off of him, my feet sliding this way and that in my hurry. I gathered the scattered books and without looking back I made a mad dash for my dorm. I heard Dantalion calling for me. Sytry made an off comment about 'idiot nephilim' or something of the like, and Issac was left to deal with the ensuing fight.

Looking back on the event, it was wrong of me to react as I did, in hysterics or not. Then again, I'm certain he'll forgive me.


End file.
